Thousands took part in the annual ‘March for Life’ in Dublin City Centre yesterday, which was organised by the Pro-Life Campaign (PLC).

This year’s march was being held in response to the “extreme” recommendations in the review of the State’s abortion law which was published last week.

PLC spokesperson, Eilís Mulroy told the gathering that the Review was so extreme and one-sided that it guaranteed that abortion is now an election issue.

Ms Mulroy described the report as a “travesty and betrayal of women and unborn babies” and criticised the way it “undermines freedom of conscience protections for healthcare workers” and for the way it “misleadingly presents abortion, which ends a human life, as healthcare.”

Aontú leader and TD for Meath West Peadar Tóibín told the crowd:  “The number of abortions jumped a devastating 25%, just in the last year. In the four years that the law has been in place nearly 28,500 babies have been aborted. It’s the equivalent of 1,228 classrooms for children. It is the equivalent to the population of Kilkenny City”.